[VESUVIO - NAPOLI, ETNA - SICILIA] - Raccolta di disegni e acquerelli dedicati a Napoli, alla Sicilia e al sud Italia [perlopiù tratti da Jean Claude Richard l'abbé de Saint-Non (1727-1791). Voyage pittoresque ou description des royaumes de Naples et de Sicile. Parigi: Clousier, 1781-86. [E:] - William CAMDEN (1551-1623). Britannia: or, a Chorographical Description of the Flourishing Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Islands Adjacent. Londra: John Stockdale, 1806. [E:] - Le antichità di Ercolano esposte. Napoli: Regia Stamperia, 1757-1779]. [fine XVIII e inizio XIX secolo ].   A splendid and fascinating collection dedicated to the territories around Naples and Sicily. The illustrations are taken from those engraved in the famous work of Jean Claude Richard the abbé de Saint-Non (1727-1791). "Voyage pittoresque ou description des royaumes de Naples et de Sicile". Paris: Clousier, 1781-86, from William Camden's work: "Britannia: or, a Chorographical Description of the Flourishing Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Islands Adjacent". London: John Stockdale, 1806 and from "Le antichità di Ercolano esposte". Naples: Regia Stamperia, 1757-1779.   The English annotations a the front endpaper mention the eruptions of Vesuvius from 79 to 1779 indicating that the last occurred exactly 1700 years after the one that destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii. The first illustration describes the mentioned eruption of 8 August 1779 which started at 9AM lasting about 45 minutes with the lava reaching a height equal to three times that of Vesuvius. There is no mentioned of the following eruption of 1795 as in Saint-Non's work.   Among the views there are also monuments of the region such as the amphitheater of Pozzuoli, the Baths of Nero, Pestum, Pompeii and the Pantheon in Rome with two splendid illustrations of the interior and exterior. Some other views also describe the natural wonders such as lakes and caves in the surroundings. Of great beauty are also the illustrations dedicated to Catania, Etna and Sicily.   Folio (478 x 295mm). Over 100 illustrations including drawings and watercolours on Japanese paper? inserted in pictorial frames of various sizes, the largest are full page (350 x 250mm), while the smallest are also two or three on the same sheet (60 x 80mm), on the recto of many there are captions describing the views; finally a series of full and double page drawings depict ancient statues and grottesque from Pompei's walls and floors (some tears from the drawings due to the fragility of the paper, others in the margins of the leaves, some leaves about to be detached, one of the frames without illustration). 19th-century half calf over marbled boards (rubbed).

Estimate € 3,000 - 5,000